Twenty-six Valleys Middle Village
Seeing the light of day, his eyes still felt a little uncomfortable. Lu Yinche hid his body and looked around. The valley was not large, with mountains and forests on three sides, and only one side had an entrance.
They had built a stockade here, complete with facilities, a wall more than two people high, and a watchtower on the hill. Not many people came in or out, just carts laboriously pulling back and forth, transporting large black boxes.
Lu Yinche had a bad feeling about those boxes, and he was sure that they didn't contain anything auspicious.
There were several low-level monks on patrol, and Lu Yinche easily slipped in through the gate without even making any extra movements or making any noise to deceive them.
There are mostly bungalows in the village, some of which are guarded, and one of them is talking to someone.
It was a familiar face, the guy from the Meng Family Pharmacy in Huangquan Market. It sounded like he was here to pick up some goods.
Lu Yinche took a look inside and saw many black jars placed in the room, about a dozen on each floor, stacked one on top of the other, each one about the size of a human head.
The clerk weighed one and shook it, and the jar made a creaking sound. He said very experiencedly, "This one isn't even full. It ran out in just half a day. Give me some more."
Guard: "Follow the rules."
Waiter: "The Queen Mother's Banquet will be over tomorrow. Once the banquet is over, there won't be so many suckers coming to buy. This is also what our boss wants. The masters have already negotiated it."
The guard looked hesitant, so the guy continued to persuade him.
Lu Yinche didn't have time to watch them argue. The scent of maltose in the air was so thick that even the jar couldn't block it out. He had never thought something this sweet could make his nose itch.
With a slight tip of his toes, he flew onto the roof and ran lightly into the village.
After passing the outer warehouse, there is a row of eight houses built with bricks and stones. They only have doors but no windows, and a circle of soul-locking stone sand is sprinkled on the outside.
What is this used for?
To prevent the spirit from spying? Or to prevent something from coming out?
The more this happened, the more he wanted to go and take a look. Lu Yinche loved doing this kind of thing the most. He randomly picked a room with a half-open door and walked in.
Still a jar.
Countless black jars were placed on wooden shelves, row after row.
Tsk, making sauerkraut in the deep mountains and forests?
Lu Yinche glanced around here with some disdain. Unlike the warehouse in front that stored elixirs, the jars here were placed much more spaciously. Each jar had a palm-sized piece of red paper with scrawled words on it that were unrecognizable.
Red soul-locking sand is scattered between the altars, and the bloody smell covers the scent of malt sugar, like sand waves left after the tide recedes, stuck in the cracks.
Lu Yinche couldn't see the end of the room through the gap in the jar. From the outside, the room didn't look very big. Could it be that the long row of rooms were all connected? Why build so many doors for no reason?
He walked in carefully, and the jars were quiet and obedient.
After passing three doors, the shelves almost reached the end. Through the last row, you could see the light from the fire outside.
The door is open.
But there was no one.
Several familiar large barrels were placed there, each filled with a deep red liquid, and the stench of blood filled the air. The only difference was that only one of the barrels contained a human being.
Zhiniang, the girl taken away by the Nascent Soul cultivator, was in the innermost barrel. She had her eyes closed, as if asleep, with only her head sticking out.
Bloodbath. Lu Yinche thought of the word he had seen before.
Before he could do anything, Lu Yinche heard footsteps and immediately grasped the spell, hiding himself behind the jar. Two tall men in black clothes came in carrying a bucket of blood. Although it was night, they were still wearing hoods covering their faces, revealing only their eyes.
Are you so shameful even in your own hideout?
Lu Yinche stared at the two of them pouring blood into the bucket where Zhiniang was, and felt something was wrong.
The two figures were so similar, their steps so coordinated that if you didn't look closely, you'd think there was a mirror between them, so symmetrical. Where did they get these twins?
And those two pairs of eyes were indescribably familiar.
He had seen it. He must have seen it.
Lu Yinche began to search his memory for the twins he had dealt with.
After the men in black poured the water, they walked out silently with the buckets, and two men dressed similarly and of the same height came in, carrying a new bucket of blood.
Um?
Lu Yinche was confused.
Just then, someone chased in and shouted, "Don't fall!"
The men in black didn't listen to him.
This was a short man. He stood at the door and couldn't even stop the two men in black who were walking out in front of him. He was bumped into and cursed his bad luck. He rushed into the house and watched the remaining men in black pour out the blood. The excess overflowed from the bucket and flowed all over the ground.
There were some particles mixed in the blood-red liquid.
Lu Yinche moved his body imperceptibly, pulled himself up from the ground, and hooked himself onto the beam above to avoid being stained by the flowing liquid.
The short man was furious and pushed one of them, shouting, "Go clean it up!"
The men in black didn't move. They just stood there silently, like two puppets.
Yes, a puppet. Lu Yinche glanced up and down and felt that it should be. What kind of material was it made of? It was so delicate. Although the eyes were emotionless, they were extremely clear and bright, more beautiful than the eyes of many living people.
The short man was cursing as another person walked in from outside.
It’s that Nascent Soul cultivator.
The short man saluted and called him: Master Shangjue.
This title is not very auspicious.
But what this person did was also quite damning. They were truly a perfect match.
Lu Yinche subconsciously hid further inside.
There are soul-locking sands everywhere here. Without the soul to search, even a cultivator who has reached the state of enlightenment would find it difficult to find him hiding here.
The Nascent Soul cultivator indeed didn't notice him. He glanced at the messy scene, sighed, and said to the short man, "They won't listen to you. You should go back first."
The short man bowed again, took a step back, and then remembered something and said, "I almost forgot to report to you. Master Zheng Yu has returned and seems to have something to ask you."
Master Zhengyu? The one who took Qishu earlier? Lu Yinche remembered.
Considering the title of this real person "Shang Jue" in front of him, it might be Shang Jiao as in Gong Shang Jiao Zheng Yu - two characters for one person, and there is one left, Gong... ?
Shang Jiao Zhenren nodded and said, "Just tell him that I am here with the soul. The Weaver Girl is bathing in blood, and I want to guard it."
As soon as the words fell, someone laughed loudly, as if a famous actor on the stage came on stage and wanted to use the sound to lead the way: "I knew you were here, guarding your treasure - why did you put two of these things? No one else has the same hobby as you."
He was an elderly man.
Lu Yinche couldn't see his cultivation level, which meant that this person was above the Palm Realm, at least at the Spirit Transformation Realm, or even at the Return to the Abyss Realm.
His face suddenly became serious.
Zhenren Zhengyu, a cultivator in the Spirit Transformation Stage, had a kind smile on his face. In contrast, Zhenren Shangjiao's face was much colder, and he seemed to be faintly wary of this person.
He replied grimly, "These guys can only do the hard work of carrying water, they can't do anything else."
He was referring to the two men in black who were still standing in the room.
Zhenren Zhengyu also saw the blood on the ground, smiled, and pointed at the black jar beside him: "You didn't find a match? This is unlike you. You have collected so many souls, but you don't have a single qualified one?"
"If he can easily control the body of the Sword Saint, what can you and I do?" Shang Jiao sneered and raised his hand to take off the veil on the face of the man in black who was closest to him.
Is that—Yan Yanshu’s face?
If Lu Yinche didn't have some self-control, his eyes would not just be wide open.
No, not Yan Yanshu.
At most, it was an imitation of the puppet made by his father. Although I don't know why they are so similar in appearance, their expressions are numb, and a closer look reveals that they have no bones.
It made sense. Yan Yanshu had a rare natural sword bone, which was so rare that the old leader of Cheng Xiao Sect was willing to take him back to become a sword cultivator, even though it would offend the Buddhist sect. Although Lu Yinche felt that from the perspective of singleness, there was no difference between sword cultivators and Buddhist cultivators.
In short, with such a level of Ziweixing, this group of people really copied four of them at once.
Why is Lu Yinche still the big devil?
No, based on what these people have done now, he is not worthy of it! Unless, unless the guy named Shang Jiao below is really his apprentice who was taught by him personally.
Zheng Yu, with a look of interest, scrutinized the fake Sword Saint's face, his spittle practically spraying him in the face. The latter showed no sign of dodging. He spoke with regret, "I finally managed to get the mold from Mr. Yang. What a waste."
"However," he changed the subject, looking at the weaver girl still soaking in blood, "it's still better to give birth and raise the fetus. Is yours going to be successful?"
"It'll take some time." Shang Jiao obviously didn't want to discuss Zhiniang's affairs with him in detail. He glanced at her quickly and changed the subject. "How long will the Zhang family's one stay? I'll put it aside. If I can't replenish the soul today, I'll have to keep her alive for now."
Master Zheng Yu showed a surprised expression, a little fake: "Oh, did I find the right one for you?"
"I took someone from the third row who wanted to live. She's useless as a medicine man, but I think possessing her body is fine. It just so happens that she also wanted to live, but maybe her soul wasn't completely removed, so she's causing me a headache."
Zheng Yu Zhenren shook his head and commented: "The Meng family has too many useless people, so they can't accomplish anything. They still have to bring the formation here. With so many souls pressing down, the soul-locking sand can be completely extracted. It's just a bit troublesome, so I'll ask your people to keep an eye on it and don't cause any trouble."
"How many people can I have?" Shang Jiao rejected his proposal. "The last guy, after seeing my puppet, went crazy and his soul was shattered. It's a pity that such a good seedling had to be thrown back up there."
Zheng Yu Zhenren laughed. "Ha, I wasn't there at the time, otherwise I wouldn't have told you to touch him. He's the Cheng Xiao Sect's thorn. After seeing your deadly Sword Saint face, wouldn't he be scared? But it's okay, I'll take care of him. This thorn, called Rat, is also an unimportant person. No one will bother you, right?"
"Who is so blind when Master Zheng Yu takes action?" It was impossible to tell whether Shang Jiao really thought so or was just being sarcastic.
"I only have a bit of face, but most people don't buy my story," he said modestly. "You too, the man who calls you Master serves you day and night, bringing you footbath water and emptying your chamber pot. It's quite courageous to face that face."
"My master just made a mistake."
"How can I say I'm mistaken? With that appearance, if I hadn't been so hurt by the beating, I would have definitely asked you for two." He spoke as if he were buying and selling cabbages.
He then jokingly said, "Hey, why don't you act like your master? Look at all your love affairs. It's all because of him that you got involved with the medicine man. You're always burrowing underground. It's hard for me to find you."
Shang Jiao wrinkled his nose. "How can the puppet be him? Besides, I don't have his blood either."
Master Zheng Yu clapped his hands. "That's it! I almost forgot what I had to tell you. Someone died in the Black Cave a few days ago, and I got a magic weapon as compensation. Do you know what it is?"
Before Shang Jiao could guess, Master Zheng Yu answered, "It's Qishu. It's the magic weapon your master made. I bought it from the Wei family in Qichuan. It didn't respond well to my commands. I wanted to give it to you, but then I forgot about it. Now it's lost. What a pity."
Shang Jiao looked helpless. "If that's the case, what are you talking about? My master made so many magic weapons back then, so one more or one less doesn't matter."
"No, I later inquired about it. The one who died was chasing a child who was in the foundation-building stage. I guess an old monster came out of the woods and rescued him. It's nothing. With such cultivation, the girl from the Zhang family would despise her even if you had her in your hands. I am of no use to her. It's just--" He dragged out his words to keep the suspense.
Shang Jiao and him had stood there talking for long enough, and he was already impatient. If he hadn't been waiting here for Zhiniang's bloodbath, he would have excused himself and returned to his underground place. "Just what?"
"That kid's surname is Lu. I specifically went to find out. He's doing poorly in some idle sect. As soon as I mentioned him, people rushed to tell me about him. He's a relative of your master, ten generations removed. So he's related to you, too."
"How dare Qichuan Lu mention my master?" Gong Jiao was not interested at all, because the serious matter he had been talking about for so long was just this. He curled his lips and stared at the sleeping Zhiniang, intending to send him away.
Seeing that he wasn't curious, Master Zheng Yu didn't continue the conversation. He looked at Zhi Niang's hair, which had little nutritional value, and said something shocking: "I don't understand why you cherish her so much. You don't value kinship. Didn't you feed her both granddaughters?"
Shang Jiao's expression remained unchanged: "Why don't you go back and prepare for your auction? Is everything ready?"
"Don't mention it," he sighed, as if he had really suffered a great loss. "I got some dragon teeth as the finale, and they were shattered into pieces. It really offends Xizhou. Let's get some snake teeth instead."
He added, "I heard an elder from the Chengxiao Sect has arrived, I don't know which one, Xuanji Tower and Chan Sect have also sent people, plus a few aristocratic families from Nanjun, and people from the Qingtian Sect. I'm not sure if I can fool them."
Shang Jiao retracted his gaze and chuckled, "What else can I do? If Qin Xiaofu doesn't tell you, you can just take the picture yourself."
"City Lord Qin and I—" He stopped talking halfway and looked outside.
Another person walked in, it was the short man from before.
Shang Jiao saw the opportunity and quickly asked him, "What's the matter?"
The short man said, "Reporting to the two masters, Zhang Ri'an, the head of the Zhang family, brought a new Soul Locking Stone and said he wanted to see his sister."
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